


The Cold Greatness of the Violet Sun

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), F/M, Minor Mai/Zuko, Mulan AU, Multi, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zutara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27410329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When a group of rebels start a war in the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, Katara doubts that it will reach her tribe. That is until a man from every family is summoned to the front lines. As her crippled father prepares to leave because her brother is nowhere in sight, she feels that she has no choice but to take his place. She doesn't know what to expect, posing as Sokka from the Southern Water Tribe, but it is definitely not travelling in disguise with a boy she thought only existed in fairy tales or uncovering 102 years of secrets while serving under a prince focused on regaining his honor.
Relationships: Aang & Katara (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 7





	1. Prologue

For the last 100 years, the world has been at peace. After the Fire Nation attacked the Earth Kingdom and all the Air Nomads were taken out with a series of natural disasters, a war took place for two years. In that war, the Fire Nation spread their wealth by helping the divided Earth Kingdom unify under Firelord Sozin. The Earth Kingdom had a long line of weak kings and city states who were divided from him.  
Even though the war ended, the Fire Nation, in recent years, began to continue spreading their influence throughout the world peacefully. Towns who were let down by the Earth Kingdom were happy to become allies or Fire Nation colonies.  
Naturally, there were people who didn’t understand the peace that the Fire Nation was bringing to the world, but they also were angry at the Earth Kingdom for doing nothing to stop them. This inspired countless rebellion groups to attack the Fire Nation. Years of fighting these young idealists, the world was brought out of balance, but the Fire Nation was still a thriving nation. The to and fro of battle inspired the Fire Nation to not rely on benders and expand their technology. It was a blessing in disguise.  
That is until Seigi Dake took Ba Sing Se. The Earth King escaped, but nobody knew where this group of rebels came from or why so many nobodies could be so strong, but they were. They fought for peace, even though they brought so much destruction. They fought with fire in their hearts, even though they were led by non-benders. They were enemies with the Fire Nation, even though they had yet to set foot on their soil.  
Yet.


	2. Chapter One - The First to See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for so much reading! I already got three comments and a bookmark and I hope you know how extremely grateful I am, I honestly wasn't expecting a single person to read this. Also, I changed the title from “Prove That I Could” because I’m indecisive. While I was brainstorming, I was considering titling this “Dishonor on Your Sky Bison” and the funniest part of that is that the reason I didn’t use it is because I felt bad for Appa lol.

He gasped, opening his eyes and sitting up in bed. His hand reached to his face and even though it felt normal to his fingers, he swore he could feel the burning heat melt his skin. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was another nightmare.

“Your highness?”

He turned to the side of the bed noticing that a servant stood, hunching over her hands and her eyes darting around the room, never looking him in the eye. 

“Um...yes?” He said, his voice raspy.

“General Iroh requests an audience with you,” She murmured.

He looked out the window, noticing the dark indigo of the sky. It was still the middle of the night, what could his uncle need from him? He nodded to the servant who bowed and stood up. He smoothed out his night robes while walking out of his room, hearing his guards follow him down the halls. Even though it was night he could hear hushed voices in most of the rooms he passed and could see lights on in the meeting halls across the gardens.

He found his room and his guard knocked on the door. 

“Come in,” He heard, muffled through the door. The guard opened the door and he entered, the smell of jasmine filling his nose. His uncle sat at his desk, papers sprawled out.

He looked at his nephew and stood up, sitting on the bed. “Oh good, Prince Zuko, I’m glad it’s you,”

“What happened Uncle?” Zuko asked.

“Good, I’m the first person to see you,” His uncle said. “Please, sit down at my desk,” Zuko obliged, turning the chair to face his uncle.

His uncle’s gaze was off in the distance and he was wringing his hands together. He took a deep breath and then looked back at him. “It’s happened, Prince Zuko,”

He sighed, leaning on the back of the chair. “They attacked?”

He nodded, pursing his lips. “They attacked the islands first, and your father is expected to wage war,” He said. “I have to be honest, I didn’t think that the their talk was truthful but I expect that is not all that will be in store for us,”

The doors suddenly swung open to his sister, a slight grin on her face. “Oh, Zuzu, how did I know that I would find you here?”

“What do you want, Azula?“ There had to be a reason why she searched for his attention, as the older they got, the more she didn’t want to waste time with him. Now she only ever spoke to him to brag, manipulate him, or insult him. He didn’t mind, it wasn’t like he wanted to be around a person like that, especially since being around her she was just a constant reminder of the person his father liked more than him.

“Nothing, Zuzu,” She said. “I just wanted to see how you were doing, I know how sensitive you are to these types of things, especially the position this puts you in,”

He raised an eyebrow. What does that mean? 

“Well, what do you think is going to happen to you?” She sat down on the bench in Iroh’s room. Zuko swore he saw a flash of discomfort at her. 

“I don’t know, Azula…” He said, suddenly feeling very tired. 

“Think long and hard about it, Zuzu,” She said. “You’re the last male in the royal family who is of fighting age, you’re going to be sent off to war,”

This wasn’t a shocking revelation. Every man went to war or served at some point in the royal family, most commoners did as well. Zuko served in the army himself for four years from when he was thirteen until he was seventeen. Now he was eighteen and learning more about being a Firelord, if that ever happened. Azula was acting like his was a much bigger deal than it was, which meant there was something he didn’t know.

“Princess Azula,” His uncle’s kind voice said. “It is a great honor to fight in the war,”

Zuko looked at his uncle and softened his expression, feeling pity for him. He couldn’t imagine having to lose a son. Even though he was so young and had so many years left of him, at least he died in an honorable way.

Honor.

That was something he lost, which he wanted to get back more than anything. After that day when he lost it, he spent the next five years doing nothing but that. That was why he served in the military for such a long time and at such a young age, before his father revoked his banishment. As much as he hated those four years, it was better than the year he spent at home, unsure of how he would go about getting his honor again.

Azula hummed and stood up, dusting off her night dress. Her golden eyes scanned the two men. “You are getting your own set of troops to train and then you will join commander Zhao in invading Ba Sing Se,”

Zuko stood up. “How in the world do you know this? Seigi Dake just attacked,”

Azula looked up at him. “It’s just a guess,” She turned to walk away, but before she exited the room, she said, “Oh, and the Firelord requests your presence,”

Azula, like always, was right. Zuko was sent to the training grounds outside the capital, working under Commander Zhao. He was tasked with training the new recruits. He trained up until they arrived, trying to avoid Zhao as much as possible, even though he was tasked with preparing Zuko to be a general.

Neither of them enjoyed that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading! I haven’t written fanfiction since I was in middle school and I love constructive criticism, but please don’t post any comments to just be mean, I’m still a little traumatized by one guy who cussed me out in the comments when I was twelve.  
> Also, as I'm sure you can tell from the Prologue that I'm definitely overcomplicating things by literally making a whole rebel group that will be the main 'bad guys'. I didn't even do that on purpose, it just kinda happened while I was outlining and realized that I needed them to actually be fighting something.


	3. Chapter Two - Their Parents' Son

Katara was going to kill her brother.  
Why did he have to always bother her with sending over boys to try to woo her while she was practicing her waterbending? Sometimes he could be so sexist as he thought that this was actually helping her. As she was sixteen years old and with no prospects of marriage, he thought she needed a husband to be happy in life. Katara couldn’t believe he was their parents’ son, as she was always raised to believe that she didn’t need some man to be happy. She was the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe, she shouldn’t ever have to worry about getting married.  
The few unmarried women in their small village were fine, as people always married for love. Everyone in the village treated everyone else basically like family, she didn’t need to be in a rush to get married.  
Katara pretended to not notice her brother and the boy she barely knew get off of their boat. She continued waterbending at the shore, her feet steady under the ice and her face numb from the extra cool air next to the water.  
She heard whispers from the two boys and shuffling, but she kept her gaze on the water. Finally, she heard fast paced footsteps and felt an arm hang over her shoulder.  
She rolled her eyes at her brother. “How much did you catch today, Sokka?”  
He dropped his arm and crossed his arms. “Um...two,”  
She punched his arm. “You need to start bringing me on your trips again, you know I can catch more fish than anyone else,”  
“That’d be fun,” The other boy spoke up, finally.  
“No, no, no,” Sokka walked towards the other boy. “The reason she can catch so many fish is because of her weird witchcraft. You never even try to catch any fish anyways, you just keep practicing,”  
The other boy’s eyes widened. Katara wished she could remember his name.  
Sokka walked over to the boat and pulled out a stick with the fish on it. “Well, I’m going to go give this to Dad, I’ll see you two later,”  
Katara glared at him while he walked past her with a dopey grin on his face.  
She looked at the boy, twiddling the edge of his coat. “You know, I was just-” She took a step backwards to go, but he interrupted her.  
“Wait! I, I um…” He stammered.  
She put her hands on her hips. “What?”  
“Well, um,”’ He said. “You have nice hair,”  
She subconsciously lightly touched her braid with her hand, feeling a twinge of pity for the boy. Sokka probably promised him a girl who would fall at his feet and be wooed by his charming awkwardness.  
“You know,” She said softly. “I’m not sure what Sokka said about me or what kind of relationship I want with you-”  
She expected the boy to blush or deny anything, but she watched in confusion as his eyebrows furrowed and he scowled.  
“Ugh, you waterbenders are all the worse,” He spat at her. “I bet you don’t even know my name, huh?”  
“What-” She squinted at him, tilting her head.  
“Look, I’m just trying to be a nice guy, and you’re going to need a nice guy before you know it,” He threw his hands up in the air. “Just you wait,”  
“What does that mean?” She asked sourly.  
His gaze flickered to the Fire Nation boats in the distance. They would come every once in a while to deliver messages from the Firelord. This was the first time they came in months after war was declared with the rebel group. Katara didn’t understand the group, what were they trying to accomplish by taking Ba Sing Se? Did they want to start their own country? If so, why did they say they were inspired when the Fire Nation took on colonies in the Earth Kingdom? The Earth Kingdom was extremely divided and disorganized with a weak King, so Katara didn’t blame the Fire Nation. They were only helping out the colonies by taking the poor cities who didn’t get to flourish under Earth Kingdom Rule.  
The Southern Water Tribe was different, though. They were allies with the Fire Nation, not a colony. They were a small tribe and the Fire Nation just offered to help them out, which her grandfather, the chief, peacefully agreed to. He even sent his own son to join the Fire Nation army when he was a young man. Unfortunately, this meant that he didn’t get to be there much during Katara and Sokka’s childhood and he came back home injured, still needing a cane to walk.  
“Your brother will already dishonor your family, do you think some waterbending spinster will help?”  
She watched the boy stomp away from her, at first she felt bad for getting him so worked up, but now she saw that he was just overly angry at her for some reason.  
Once he was a far enough distance away, she threw up her arms in anger, making the wall of ice to her side crumble. It surprised her how much the tall wall moved, she forgot how much her emotions could affect her bending.  
She crossed her arms and began to walk home. She looked once again at the water behind her when she saw a spot in the distance. She frowned and stepped closer to the shore. She gasped when she realized it had to be a boat. She ran home as quickly as possible, not paying attention to what she left behind her, her mind thinking back to the words the boy had said.


	4. Chapter Three - Just a Small Village

She busted open the tent to her father’s home. Her father and grandmother both sat at the table, her father with his head in his hands and while she clutched a cup of tea.

“Did the Water Tribe join the war?” She asked.

They looked up to her, their expressions dark. Gran-Gran nodded, the strands of hair falling out from her updo twirling. Katara sank on the ground, the rumors were true.

“And Sokka?” Katara imagined the worst. She imagined Sokka hearing of the war while her father talked to the Fire Nation representatives and getting a sudden burst of courage. She imagined him jumping on the first ship to fight in the war. He was such an idiot.

“We don’t know,” Her father said, staring at the door.

“What is going to happen?” She asked. She’d never lived through a war before, but she couldn’t imagine the Southern Water Tribe would getting involved. They were such a small tribe, they wouldn’t make much a difference, but Katara also knew of the Fire Nation’s determination.

Her father met her eyes. “Katara, I-”

Suddenly, muffled yelling came from outside. Katara stood up and walked out, ignoring her father and Gran-Gran's protests as they followed her.

Three Fire Nation soldiers were in the middle of their small village as people crowded around them.

“Member of the Water Tribe! Villagers! An announcement!” They repeated themselves while Katara ran to the crowd. Her family caught up to her while the men still waited for everyone to leave their houses.

Katara’s eyes scanned the crowd, recognizing all of her neighbors. She watched their faces furrowed with fear and confusion. Children hung off their parents legs while mothers held their daughters close. Katara’s own grandmother put her hand on Katara’s shoulder while her father limped to Katara’s other side.

Katara looked to him with wide eyes. Her father was chief and was probably one of the only people who knew what was going on. He wrapped one of his arms around himself and slumped, so unlike his usual straight posture. He looked at her and she searched his glassy eyes. He swallowed and they both turned away.

“People of the Southern Water Tribe!” One of the soldiers said. He was of stronger build than the other two and had a long beard peppered with white. The other two both looked much younger, not even solely because of their faces. They seemed to tremble in the icy white air while the soldier speaking looked like he owned the place.

“The Fire Nation has declared war against the band of rebels called the Seigi Dake,” He continued. “And because of the many city states backing the group, this war will not be easy. That is why we talked with your leaders and as our allies, the summons spreading across the Fire Nation will be extended here as well. Every family will require one man to be sent to battle,”

Katara’s heart dropped as the soldiers began calling up families to collect the pieces of paper that would send them to war.

Sokka really was going to be a soldier. He always dreamed of fighting like their father, but now it was actually happening. She wanted to cry, she could never see her brother again and she didn’t even get to say goodbye, but she put on a brave face.

The hot headed boy from earlier stared at Katara smugly as his father took the paper, saying that he was going to fight for the Fire Nation. The boy was certainly old enough to fight himself, Katara thought. 

Next her family was called up. She watched her father limp to the soldiers and take the parchment. “I will fight for the Fire Nation,” He said and Katara raised her eyebrows.

She looked to Gran-Gran. “What about-”

“Sokka left, Katara,” She said. “Not to fight,”

“Then, why-” Katara looked at her father who was limping back to them and realization hit her. “No! Dad!” She ran up to him and took his hands in hers. “You can’t fight, Dad, you can’t,”

He frowned and looked down at her, not answering. 

She ran past him and to the soldiers, tears running down her face. “My father has already served his time! Look at what it did to him, he can’t fight!”

The soldiers exchanged glances with each other. “This isn’t up to us, little girl,” The oldest one said. “This direct orders from the Firelord, if he doesn’t fight, he will be put in jail,”

“No!” She screamed, but her grandmother held her back, pulling her into a bear hug. Katara sobbed, not caring who saw. She couldn’t help the tears being pushed out of her eyes. She finally looked up at her father, standing next to Gran-Gran. “Why would Sokka leave, knowing that this was going to happen?”

“He didn’t, he…” Her father sighed. “It is none of your business, Katara,”

She slumped her shoulders and watched as her father walked away, holding the paper in one hand. Gran-gran gave her a pitiful look and followed her father back home. 

The villagers parted around her while she observed her father’s limp. How would he fight? He couldn’t even run. 

Katara spent the rest of the afternoon cooking the fish Sokka got and doing chores, a deep pain in her stomach when she thought of him. She had to be brave, though. Her father didn’t need a crying daughter to just make him feel worse about leaving, he didn’t deserve that. She didn’t even feel comfortable asking what happened to Sokka because of how he snapped at her.

She did spend all of her time thinking about how she could stop this from happening. She thought about writing a message to the people who work at the Fire Nation palace, blackmailing the soldiers who visited her town, faking her father’s death, or going with her father and arguing with the general who oversaw him. None of those would work, though.

“Katara, come here,” Gran-Gran said, sitting on pelts and sewing up her father’s clothes. The fire they always had on lit her brown face with golden highlights.

Katara sat next to her, wrapping her arm around her back as they stared at the fire for a long time. Katara didn’t enjoy staying still living the life she did. There was always so much to do, that even if she wanted to rest, she wouldn’t enjoy it. Today, though, she felt numb. 

After Gran-Gran finished sewing, she scooted so she was behind Katara. She then undid her braid and bun, running a comb through the tangles in Katara’s hair. Gran-Gran and Katara’s mother used to take turns doing this every night when Katara was little. 

“Such beautiful hair,” She muttered. “Your mother had hair as straight as silk, yours is wavy, like the ocean,”

Katara looked at the opening of their tent. Her father was talking with the other men in the villages. She thought of his stern face, yet kind eyes. She thought of his laugh. He used to play with her and Sokka when they were younger, before he left to fight. Katara didn’t even know if she actually remembered playing with her father or if she just remembered the stories her mother would tell. Katara was five when he left, seven when he came back, and eight when her mother died. 

Then, Katara had a burst of courage she hadn’t felt in the last eight years. “Does Dad hate me?”

She felt her grandmother drop her hair. “Of course not, why do you say that?”

Katara looked at the ground. “Does he blame me for my mother’s death...he just has been so absent,”

“Katara!” Gran-Gran scolded her. “Don’t say that about your poor father, he has every right to not be the most active and happy person, but you are lucky. They are many people who don’t get the unconditional love he gives you two,”

Her grandmother was right. He was a great father, but Katara hurt to see him in pain for the last eight years. That wasn’t his fault, though. It was her own for thinking that taking on all the responsibilities her mother had, would make him miss her less. 

As soon as Katara frowned, Gran-Gran somehow sensed it and rubbed her shoulder. “Your father is so proud of you, Katara, even though he is not good at showing it,” She said softly. “None of the men here are, after years of our tribe shrinking...it’s hardened them, while making the women weaker,”

“I know, Gran-Gran,” 

Katara could hear from the light tone of the voice that she was smiling, “Katara, you have the spirit of a lion, that can be said for very few,” She then scouted to look Katara in the eyes. “You stand up for what you know is right, no matter the consequences. That is because you can see that it is worth it,”

Gran-Gran stood up slowly, her old bones stretching and walking over to a small box she kept in the corner of their home. She took out something that was wrapped in a white fabric. She walked back over to Katara and sat in front of her. Unfolding the soft fabric, a large animal tooth attached to a piece of medal. She put it in Katara’s hands.

“What is this?”

Gran-Gran smiled sadly. “It was your mother’s father’s good luck charm. He slayed the beast that this belonged to when he was younger than you are now,”

Katara tilted her head. “But this is a man’s good luck charm,”

She nodded and pushed Katara’s hand that held it into her chest. “Yes, Katara,”

She finally sat at dinner for what felt like an eternity long afternoon. Her father and Gran-Gran were uncharacteristically quiet. With the quiet, Katara felt her rage inside her boiling like a pot on the stove and she knew it was going to boil over soon. Why were her emotions like this? Once she was extremely sad, the next she was extremely angry. She threw down her plate and looked her father in the eye.

“You can’t go to war,” She said, her voice deep and steady. “I won’t let you,”

Her father didn’t look back at her. “What do you want me to do, Katara? Go to jail instead?”

She wrung her hands together over their table. “Yes,”

He dropped his plate and sighed, his voice getting more and more strained, “If I do, they could kill me Katara, I might as well serve and go out in an honorable way without humiliation,”

“They won’t kill you,” She protested. “You’re the chief and injured,”

“Do you think they care about either of those facts?” He spat at her. “They don’t care at all about our little village, I might be chief, but I have no power over even the smallest, most low ranking General they have. Even if I am a war hero,”

“Then why do they want us to fight? We won’t even make a difference,”

“They want to prove they can have power over us. We may be called allies, but we are just one step from being just another colony,” Her father said sadly.

“Don’t say that Hakoka, you sound like a rebel,” Gran-Gran said softly.

He crossed his arms and looked at Katara with a familiar look, his gaze steady and his jaw tense. It meant stop it. “You’re making this harder for me, Katara, please,”

She stood up and huffed. She then stomped away from the table in anger. She always had to be the responsible one in the family, didn’t she?

With that thought, she went into Sokka’s part of their family tent, closing the curtain behind her. She took a deep breath and sat down on his spread of pelts he slept on. He was such a mess, all of his clothes and some scrolls thrown all over the little space. She picked up a shirt of his, feeling it rub against the fabric of her gloves. She put her hand in one of the little pockets and pulled out a piece of paper. Paper was hard to come by in their tribe, but Sokka still insisted on using it.

She observed the little paper, noticing it must’ve been a design or some war machine or something. He was always inventing things that he wouldn’t have a chance to ever actually create.

She let herself cry about her confusion and anger at Sokka and her sadness towards her dad. She didn’t cry for long, as she didn’t want to wallow while her father was still here. She stood up and dropped the shirt. She then took one step towards the door before stopping herself.

The shirt looked about the same size as her. She did have a somewhat Sokka-like figure, she was tall and skinny like him. People always used to say that when they were younger, the only way to tell them apart were the beads in Katara’s hair. She bit her lip and picked back up the shirt. An idea was forming in her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading! I'm thinking that I'm going to try to post regularly on Sundays and on some Wednesdays depending on how busy I am.

**Author's Note:**

> As a wise man once said, “Ah, that’s just a bunch of Fire Nation propaganda,”


End file.
